


Coffee beans and sports cars.

by CustardCreamies



Category: The Grand Tour (TV) RPF, Top Gear (UK) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-11 22:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3334367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CustardCreamies/pseuds/CustardCreamies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Top Gear AU In which James owns a cafe. Jeremy is the customer who visits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I liked the idea of a coffee shop AU and decided that yes, I shall give it a shot. Here's the first part. Please let me know if you want a second chapter. 
> 
> Some things about the AU. 
> 
> Top Gear (2002) doesn't exist. But the magazine is still going strong. Jeremy works for the magazine and presents other shows. James used to work at a motoring magazine but left to set up his own coffee shop and Richard works for him.

It's a dreary Monday morning when James first sees him. It's the busiest hour of the day for the coffee shop, lunch time. The time in which many people leave work to grab a mid morning coffee and to get out of their stuffy offices. James had just finished serving a customer and was taking her payment when the bell over the door tinkled again, signalling another customer.  

"One moment" James quickly says as he puts the money in the till and locks it. He turns around only to be greeted by a man with the bluest blue eyes he has ever seen. 

"What can I get you, sir?" James asks, aware that his voice may have shook a little as he said the words. 

The man looks up at the menu for a moment before looking at James again "just a espresso, please and could you bring it to my table?" 

"Yep that's no problem, coming right up" James says as moves away from the counter and busies himself with the coffee machine, his co-worker, Richard, watches James as he not so steadily makes the drink "are you okay, mate?" he asks as he looks at James in concern. 

"What? Oh yeah I'm fine" James pours the coffee into the cup and takes a quick look at the customer who had taken a seat near the window. Richard follows his gaze and then looks at James again before laughing "have you got a little crush?" 

"No, don't be ridiculous man!" James says incredulously, but Richard merely laughs and says "sure..." 

"I haven't" James says again as he picks up the cup and walks to the customer's table. The man is busy looking at his phone but he looks up as James approaches. 

"Here you go" James says as he places the cup on the table. The man flashes him a small smile and thanks him before picking the cup up. James is about to move away when he catches sight of the sports car outside of his shop. 

"Oh that's a Porsche 918! It looks like the one with the V8 engine" 

The man looks up at the words and replies "yes it is, it's mine. You like cars do you?" 

"Well, yes. I worked for Autocar for a while before I left to set up my own business" James says.

The man looks thoughtful for a minute before replying "Autocar you say? I thought you looked familiar, weren't you the guy that got sacked for leaving a message in each of your articles?" 

James looks down for a moment before saying "well, yes. But it's an awful magazine anyway" 

At this the man laughs and holds out his hand "the name's Jeremy Clarkson" 

James takes the offered hand and shakes it firmly "James May" 

Jeremy smiles at him "well, James. It's nice to see someone who knows their cars" 

"Thank you" James returns the easy smile and asks "so what do you do for a living?" 

"Oh I write articles for a motoring magazine"

"Please don't say at Autocar" 

At this Jeremy laughs "no, Top Gear" 

"Really?" James asks and nods approvingly. 

"Yes" Jeremy replies. He then looks at his watch and sighs "and I'm late...well James. It was nice meeting you" Jeremy picks up his espresso and drains the cup before placing it down on the table. He looks at James as he shrugs on his coat "perhaps I'll come back tomorrow. That was a good espresso" 

At this James gives a small smile "thank you, and yes it'll be nice to see you again" Then he pauses as he realises what he's just said but Jeremy doesn't seem to have noticed as he nods in agreement "then I shall come back tomorrow, see you James" he says as he picks up his laptop bag and makes his way out of the coffee shop, giving James a little wave as he walks out through the door. 

As soon as the tinkling of the bell announces he's left, James lets out a sigh and sinks into the chair in which Jeremy had just occupied. 

Well. That had been an interesting encountered. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This idea wouldn't leave me alone, so here's the second chapter) 
> 
> Jeremy is true to his word and comes back the next day.

James looks up as the bell tinkles and he can't stop the smile from forming as he sees that Jeremy has indeed come back. Jeremy's smile widens when he catches sight of James and he waves to him as he makes his way to the counter, Jeremy's bright beaming smile making James' chest flutter for a moment.

He manages to regain his composure enough to ask "what can I get you, Jeremy?" as Jeremy leans casually against the counter.

"An espresso again, please" Jeremy says as he takes out his wallet and hands James some money to pay for the drink. James takes the money from him and walks over to the till and as James rings in Jeremy's order and puts the money in the till, he is aware of Jeremy's eyes on him and he ducks his head a little, why is Jeremy making him feel so weird? He manages to shake these thoughts out of his head and takes the change over to Jeremy. Handing over the change causes their fingers to brush against each other and James feels heat flush his face.

"I'll just, uh, get your coffee" James says, hiding his furiously blushing face behind his hair "you just wait at your table"

Jeremy nods and walks over to the table he had occupied the day before and James gets to work on the coffee.

Richard is serving another customer but he glances over at James and gives him a knowing smile. After taking the customer's order he walks over to James and starts making the customer's coffee;

"So, the customer from yesterday is back I see, you know the one? he turned you into a swooning teenager" Richard says with a smirk. James merely glares at him and walks past him with Jeremy's coffee. Once he gets to Jeremy's table, Jeremy motions for him to sit opposite him and James complies, pushing Jeremy's coffee across the table.

"Why a coffee shop?" is Jeremy's opening gambit.  
"huh?" James replies unintelligently.  
"Why a coffee shop? If you like cars so much why didn't you apply for another motoring magazine? why decide to open a coffee shop instead?"  
"I don't know" James shrugs "I guess because I liked the idea of it, and after witnessing how pretentious they were at Autocar I was disillusioned to the idea of being a motoring journalist"

Jeremy regards him for a moment before saying "you had some good articles though"  
It is then that James notices the magazine that Jeremy is reading, an old copy of Autocar and James feels embarrassed for a moment.

"You've read my articles?" James asks.  
Jeremy nods "Yes I have and they were good, you had potential and you then threw it away!"

At this James feels a flash of anger "hey hang on a minute, I never threw it away! and besides, I'm doing much better now I'm away from that place" he is about to rise up from the table when Jeremy reaches over and places a hand on his arm, making James pause.

"Hey I didn't mean it like that, I'm just saying that you were really good. Your reviews were quite meticulous and well...sometimes boring I have to admit" at this James scoffs and shakes his head but Jeremy continues on "but your articles had passion. They spoke of someone who loved cars and someone who speaks with the kind of passion you did has every making of a true motoring journalist"

James' breath catches a little before he breathes out a quiet "thank you" he sits slowly back down at the table "no one has said that before...." he trails off and looks at Jeremy who's looking at him with earnest eyes.

"I mean it. You were good. They wasted you at Autocar" he pauses before quietly saying "you know, Top Gear could use you"

James looks up and replies "thanks for the offer but I'm quite happy where I am" at this Jeremy looks disappointed and James continues "besides, where would Rich go if I just up and sold the shop and went with you?"

"Rich?" Jeremy asks and James points out Richard who is pretending that he isn't listening to their conversation.  
"Yeah, Richard. My co-worker. I can't leave him and besides, I am happy here. I really am. So thanks for the offer but no sorry" James gives Jeremy a sad smile "anyway, I'll leave you to enjoy your drink" he gets up to leave but Jeremy reaches out to stop him again.

"No, James wait...do you...fancy meeting up tonight? Just a quiet drink between the two of us" Jeremy asks and James' heart hammers in his chest as he replies "yes, that sounds good. Meet me after we close at 6?"

"Yes, I'll meet you then" Jeremy replies, he then picks up his coffee and drains it in one go "nice coffee again" he says as he picks up his bag "I've gotta go now, but see you tonight, James" Jeremy says as he gathers his stuff and prepares to leave.

"Can't wait" James says softly as he watches Jeremy leave.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which James and Jeremy go to the pub.

James wouldn't admit to it but he was silently counting down the hours until he could close the coffee shop. He was really looking forward to having a drink with Jeremy, he was interesting and shared the same love of cars as James did. He expected that he and Jeremy would have a lot to talk about that evening.

Richard had noticed James' sudden change in mood after talking to Jeremy and had decided a bit of teasing was in order. As Richard was wiping over the tables he casually said to James "so, got a date tonight?"

"It's not a date" James replied curtly as he cleaned the pumps of the coffee machine.

"If it's not a date then why didn't you invite me to join the two of you? I like cars just as much as you do" 

James sighed "two men can go to the pub without it being a date you know and besides Jeremy doesn't know you so why would he want you to join us?"

"I don't know, but I am fun, you know that" Richard said with a grin.

"You're annoying, there's a difference" James replied.

Richard gave him a mock hurt look in return "oh you wound me, mate"

James snorted and turned his attention to turning the sink tap on and beginning the task of cleaning the cups. While he was lost to the task he thought about meeting with Jeremy. In his heart he wanted it to be a date but he couldn't be sure that is was one. Maybe Jeremy just wanted them to be friends, it was hard to tell and besides it was only a silly crush anyway. He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Richard calling him the first time and only when Richard yelled did he take himself away from his thoughts and turn to face him. "uh, you've left the sink running" Richard said, trying to contain his laughter.

James turned around and saw that the sink was close to overflowing. Damn. He had been so lost in his trail of thoughts he had forgotten to turn the water off. He quickly turned the tap off and turned to face Richard, his face flushed with embarrassment. Richard's peel of laughter followed him as he went to go get a cloth to mop up the mess.

* * *

After what seemed like a million hours, 6pm soon rolled around and James was able to close the shop. He did a quick check on everything to see that it was all in order and then all but ran to the shop door, opening it and then closing and locking it behind him. 

Jeremy was waiting for him outside of the shop, leaning against a Mazda RX-8. James raised his eyebrow at the sight of the car "I thought you had a Porsche?" he asked as he came up to Jeremy. 

"Ah, yes. I should have explained. I was borrowing the car to review it, for the magazine" Jeremy explained as he swept his arm towards the Mazda "this is the next one I'll be testing, not as good as the Porsche I know but it has a great engine" 

James glanced over the car and nodded "pretty good. This one has a wankel engine?" 

"Yes it does" Jeremy replied. He gestured to the car "shall we?" 

James nodded and went round the car to get into the passenger seat. As he was putting his seatbelt on and Jeremy was climbing into the drivers seat, a thought occurred to James "Were you using the coffee shop to write your review?"  

"hmm?" Jeremy replied as he put the key into the ignition. 

"The Porsche. Were you using the coffee shop as a place to write your review of the car?"

Jeremy glanced over at him and nodded "I must admit, yes. I was. I couldn't really find the words to describe the car whilst in the Top Gear office. The car is pretty excellent and went very well round the track, but sitting down and actually writing the review, the words wouldn't come. So I decided to take the Porsche and find a place where I could get the work done, then I found your shop and I found the words just flowed. Not to mention the coffee was pretty good"

James smiled "thank you" he paused before asking "when is that issue out? I may buy it. See what you have to say"

Jeremy chuckled "it's just a review of the car. I didn't add an extra paragraph about you or your coffee shop. Though I was tempted" he winked as he continued "If I did, I would have said the owner of the shop was pretty interesting and made the atmosphere so much better to write in"

At this James felt a rush of warmth and he ducked his head, a small smile making it's way onto his face. 

"It's out this Thursday" Jeremy continued "I'll send you a copy"

"Thank you" James said.

"Why do you want to read it anyway?" Jeremy asked as he put the car in gear.

"Oh I just want to see what you thought and what the 'flowing words' were" James replied. He busied himself in looking out of the window. Jeremy turned to look at him and James didn't notice but Jeremy's face softened when he looked at James.

"Ah, want to see how good a writer I am?" Jeremy flicked the indicator on and turned into the main road before continuing "I'm quite possibly not as detailed as you with my writing but I think you'll agree my writing is pretty passionate"

James smirked at this and turned to face Jeremy "big opinion of yourself have we?" he asked but he was just teasing.

"No one has a bigger opinion about myself then me" Jeremy replied with mock seriousness and James let out a snort; "I can see that" James replied. 

"Oi!" Jeremy replied but there was a smile on his face. 

Pretty soon the pub came into view and Jeremy slowed the car to a halt. He and James got out of the car and walked towards the pub entrance. 

The atmosphere in the pub was alive with activity. It was a Friday night, many people were celebrating the end of a working week and James and Jeremy had to push past a few people to get to the bar. Once at the bar they ordered their drinks and once the bartender had made them, made their way over to a table at the back of the bar which was a bit quieter then the front of house. 

They settled into their chairs and James took a sip of his beer. He winced and put it down again. 

"Something wrong?" Jeremy asked as he took a big swig of his beer. 

"No, it's just not as good as some other beers I've tasted" James replied "me and my friend, Oz. We sometimes go on trips tasting wine and beer"

"So you know your beer, do you?" Jeremy asks. 

"Oh yes, I think I'm actually pretty good at finding a good beer, this stuff" he pointed to the beer on the table "is awful"

"Really now? and do you know of a pub with some really good beer?" Jeremy asked. 

James nodded "The Dacia inn, it's pretty good. I'm a regular there and I can tell you their beer is the best"

"Well perhaps we'll go there tomorrow? See if you're right?" Jeremy asks casually then adds "if you want to of course"

And James smiles "yes, I'd like that"

Jeremy smiles back at him then looks down at his drink "I've always wanted to own my own pub" he says quietly.

"Really?" James asks as he takes another sip of his beer.

"Yes. I've always wondered what it would be like. Having your own pub and all the beer and everything"

"I guess it would be nice" James agrees "would you run it yourself or have some help?"

"So far, run it myself because then I could drink all the beer I wanted and I won't have someone to tell me off" Jeremy says with a laugh.

"Oh I don't know, if I helped you with it, I'd probably drink all the beer with you" James says without thinking and he mentally groans at saying something like that.

But Jeremy just looks at him with a soft smile on his face "you'd run it with me?" he asks almost shyly.

"If you wanted me too, I could combine it with the coffee shop" James replies.

Soon they both get lost in the fantasy of this pub and spend the next hour talking about their pub and what they'd do if they owned it together, they also spent ages talking about their hobbies and interests. It was nice. Comfortable. And they soon lost track of time. 

A bell ringing soon cut through their talk and James and Jeremy looked up startled as the last orders call went out. 

"How did that happen?" James asked as he gathered his coat. 

"We must have lost track of time" Jeremy said. 

"To be fair. I was enjoying our conversation" James says as Jeremy holds the door open for them and they walk out of the pub and towards Jeremy's car. 

"So did I, James" Jeremy says as he hunts for his car key in his pocket "you still on for tomorrow? At the Dacia inn?" Jeremy asks almost as an after thought. 

James smiles "absolutely, will you meet me at the same time outside the coffee shop?" 

"Of course" Jeremy says with a grin. He unlocks the car door and they both get in. 

"So, where am I dropping you off?" Jeremy asks and James gives him the address and soon they're driving towards James' house. 

* * *

 

Pretty soon Jeremy is drawing to a halt outside of James' house. 

James unbuckles his seatbelt "thank you, for this evening" 

"No problem, I enjoyed it" Jeremy replies. He looks like he wants to say more but then stops himself.

James gets out of the car and shuts the door behind him. He walks around to Jeremy's side of the car and Jeremy rolls down the window. "see you tomorrow?" James asks. Jeremy nods "I shall be there in the morning for a cup of your coffee and then pick you up at 6 to go to that Dacia pub you're so fond of" Jeremy says. 

"You'll like it, trust me" James says with a grin.

"I do, trust you" Jeremy responds and the mood suddenly goes quiet.

"I'll uh, just go inside then. Night Jeremy" James says as he awkwardly moves away towards his house.

"Bye, James" Jeremy says softly. 

As James is walking through the gate he suddenly realises that Jeremy was hoping to come into the house. He curses his obliviousness for a second and is about to turn back around and ask him to come in.

But Jeremy is already driving away. 

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which James and Jeremy go to the Dacia inn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, final chapter here. Be warned, this is quite fluffy. I don't know how it happened XD (well I do, repeated listening to a certain Ellie Goulding song. Try to guess what song it is as I've stuck a lyric of it in the final lines)

James found himself humming as he worked through the early morning orders for coffee. The sun seemed to shine brighter and the atmosphere in the coffee shop seemed to be lighter somehow, as if the events of the night before had brought new life into the shop.

It only got better once Jeremy arrived and upon his arrival James looked at him and gave him a wide happy smile. Jeremy returned it and walked over to the counter.

"The usual?" James asked as he went about preparing Jeremy's order.  
"Of course" Jeremy replied. He watched as James went about making the cup of coffee and James was keenly aware of the gaze throughout the entire process. Once the drink was made he placed it onto the counter and was about to ring up the order when Jeremy's hand went on top of his. James looked at it for a moment before looking up at Jeremy.

"We still on for tonight?" Jeremy asked causally, almost as if he hadn't noticed he had placed his hand on top of his.  
"Yes" James said, suddenly feeling as if the air crackled with energy. He was about to say something when Jeremy removed his hand and dug in his pocket for the money to pay for the drink.  
"Great! I'm looking forward to it" Jeremy said as he handed James the money and then made his way over to his usual table.

It took James a few seconds to process what had happened before he remembered to put the money into the till.

* * *

  
After Jeremy had left and most of the mid morning rush was over, James was left alone with his thoughts.

It was clear that Jeremy was testing the water, making sure James knew what he was feeling, but in a small subtle way. Just little touches like what had happened that morning and of course what had happened last night. Jeremy had clearly been waiting to be asked in and James hadn't had granted it. He was still cursing himself for not doing so, but it was all to do with not being sure with what they both wanted. He didn't really know himself what he wanted, he liked Jeremy. But he didn't know if he wanted Jeremy that way. It sometimes felt like he did. A powerful feeling of want. But he never acted upon it. He felt like he was stuck in some sort of twisted horrible limbo, torn between two paths with no clear answer on where to go.

* * *

  
Soon the time rolled around for James to close the shop. Feeling for the first time nervous about his meeting with Jeremy, James made sure everything was in order then gathered his coat and made his way to the door, taking a deep breath as he opened it.

Jeremy was waiting besides the Mazda again. He smiled when he saw James and walked over to him.

James locked the door and turned to face him "Still testing the Mazda?"

"Yes, I'm finding it hard to write the final piece for it, so thought taking it for another spin would help" Jeremy replied.

"Well, I guess it's not as good as the Porsche so it would take longer" James admitted and Jeremy nodded.

The mood suddenly felt awkward and no one knew what to say until James quietly said "so, to the pub?"

"Yes, where is it?" Jeremy asked as they got into the car. Jeremy turned the sat nav on and James gave him the address. Once it was put into the machine and the route chosen, Jeremy put the car in drive and soon they were off.

The conversation didn't seem to flow as much as it had the other night and James did feel a tension between them, a tangible thing that made the air feel suffocating. He wanted to break it desperately, to get back the easy flow of the night before. But he didn't know how.

Soon they were pulling up to the entrance of the pub. It was quite an old fashioned place with most of the brickwork dating back to the 1700s. Jeremy let out an appreciative whistle when he saw it and James had to grin at his reaction.

"I told you, I know my beer and this pub has the best around" James said.  
"It does look good, I can give you that" Jeremy replies as he unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the car door. James follows suit and soon the two of them are walking to the pub entrance.

Inside the pub, the interior was warm and cosy, some of the fixtures were there original features and James was keen to tell Jeremy that and found that he had to almost yell into Jeremy's ear to be heard as there were a lot of people in the bar and the atmosphere was full of their talk. A working real fireplace was in one corner and two chairs were either side of it. James pointed it out to Jeremy and said "This is where I usually sit when I come here, why don't you sit down and I'll go get the drinks?" Jeremy nodded and went to sit in the closest chair.

James made his way to the bar and ordered the beers, he made sure to order something which he'd think Jeremy would like and not the stuff he usually ordered. No. Tonight Jeremy would find out what real beer tasted like.

As he made his way over to where Jeremy was sitting, James caught him starring into space, a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay?" James asked as he placed their drinks on the table between them. The fire was warm and cast a soft glow over everything. Jeremy looked startled at the question and looked at James "I'm okay" he said quickly and he picked up his drink and took a sip. On the first taste, his eyes widened and he looked at the beer in wonder, then looked at James, who smiled smugly at his reaction.

"Good huh?" James said as he took a sip of his own beer.  
"James, this is the best beer I have ever tasted" Jeremy said as he took another sip.  
"I told you" James replied, enjoying the look of pleasure on Jeremy's face.

The rest of the night then seemed to run more smoothly. The tension was still there but now it was lessened somewhat, the beer acting as a placebo for the tension, making it fade into the background. But it was still there, crackling quietly, tensing like a note. Ready to spring......

* * *

  
They left the pub just as last hours were called again. They were in good spirits, laughing quietly over a joke the other had made, shoulders brushing against each other. James was aware of how close they were, but didn't mind. In fact, he liked it and wanted the contact to last.

It was then that he felt somewhat bold. He turned to Jeremy and asked "so, shall we go back to mine?"

The answering smile he received in return made James' heart skip a beat.

"I would love to" Jeremy said softly. His voice lower, which made James shiver even though the night was warm.

* * *

  
The drive to James' house was a quiet one. Both James and Jeremy lost in each others thoughts. James felt nervous, his heart was racing faster and faster the nearer they drew to his house.

Soon his house was in sight and he knew there was no turning back now.

James took a deep breath as he got out of the car and walked up the path to his house, Jeremy following.

At every step, the two pathways he could follow came to mind, both jostling for reasons why one or the other were the ones to follow. He wrestled with the decisions as he walked up the path, his heart was beating fast and he felt slightly dizzy as he finally reached the door of his house.

He rummaged in his pocket for his house key and turned to unlock the door. The door unlocked with a click and he turned to face Jeremy.

And then.

Just then.

The path to follow became clear.

Jeremy was looking at James with such a look of longing and hope that James found that the path to follow was easy to take. In that moment, the tension seemed to fade as both parties realised what they wanted.

And James, well. He wanted Jeremy.

James tentatively reached out to Jeremy and cupped his face in his hands, he then leaned in and gently pressed their lips together.

When they parted, Jeremy let out a soft chuckle "do you know how long I waited for you to do that?" he asked.

"How long?" James asked, his chest fluttering with a million butterflies.

"Since I met you"

James felt his heart tighten at the honest emotion on Jeremy's face, so he leaned in and kissed him again and this time with more passion behind it. When they parted James' touched their foreheads together "I've been wanting to kiss you since you first came through the door of the coffee shop" he said.

"Why didn't you?" Jeremy asked.

"Well I think it would be pretty weird if I just jumped you as soon as I saw you" James said with a chuckle.

"Hmmm I don't think I would have minded" Jeremy said, a cheeky grin on his face.

James shook his head, laughing. He couldn't believe how happy he was at this moment.

"So" Jeremy said, reaching out to take James' hand "what are we waiting for?"

James smiled and squeezed his hand before opening the door of his house and walking inside with Jeremy's hand gripped in his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hope you enjoyed. I really quite liked writing this fic.


End file.
